Flash floods swept away dozens of houses and damaged bridges and power infrastructure along Nepal’s Budhi Gandaki River on Sunday, October 11, leaving at least five people missing and prompting emergency evacuations in the mountainous Gorkha district.
Authorities suspect a landslide blocked the river before the resulting natural dam burst, sending a destructive surge of water and debris downstream.
The Nepal Army deployed helicopters and ground personnel to evacuate people stranded in the affected areas. Four helicopters were mobilized for search-and-rescue operations, while police and armed police personnel joined the response. The figures reflect updates issued at different stages of the rescue operation . A joint rapid response team from Kathmandu was airlifted to support relief and evacuation efforts. The latest disaster comes as Nepal continues to recover from devastating flooding along its mountainous border with China in August.
The five missing people, two women and three men, were reportedly staying at a local sheep shed in the Ujjilud area of Chumnubri Rural Municipality-6 when the flooding struck, according to the disaster management authority. The Associated Press reported that the army had rescued 49 people by Sunday afternoon. Authorities also mobilized 437 security personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force across the affected region. That disaster, linked to a mountain glacial collapse on August 26, killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands more missing.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said the latest incident highlights the range of hazards that can generate destructive floods in Himalayan river systems.
